What Is Voluma and Is It the Next Best Thing For Anti-Aging?

Are you looking in the mirror and starting to consider anti-aging treatments? Well, you're not alone. Newest FDA-approved product Voluma is opening the doors to more people like you who want a youthful look without going under the knife.

Sophisticated beauty mavens all over America have been anxiously awaiting
Juvéderm Voluma, which arrived on the scene (i.e. was approved by the FDA) in October 2013. (Interesting note: By the time the FDA got around to it, Voluma had already been approved in 72 other countries, which makes us seem a little behind in advances in aesthetic medicine, no?) Here’s what all the fuss is about: Voluma is the only FDA-approved filler that claims it will “instantly add volume to the cheek area [...] helping to restore contour and a more youthful profile, for up to 2 years, in patients over the age of 21.” Yes, you read that correctly: Results can last for up to two years — that’s longer than any other injectable on the market. Another plus: If Voluma doesn’t quite turn out the way you want it to, it’s totally reversible. Bye bye, regret!

But how does newcomer Voluma stack up to its main competition, facial volumizer
Radiesse (61% Worth It Rating)?

First let’s look at the numbers. What’s surprising about Voluma is how consumers are flocking to it as a top option for lifting the mid-face. We knew we’d see lots of RealSelfers researching it upon its big debut, but what’s surprising is that they look to be considering Voluma and Radiesse equally when shopping for anti-aging treatments — and Voluma just came out!

If we look at Google, we can see that more and more people are researching Voluma — even more so than current go-to product Radiesse. This could be because of how much Allergan is spending on advertising, but what we see in the chart below is that Voluma could be opening the doors to a new and larger set of consumers interested in anti-aging cosmetic procedures. The question is, will it replace Radiesse as the top filler on the market?

What Is Voluma?
Voluma is a gel made up of hyaluronic acid, which is a sugar that naturally occurs in the human body. Though hyaluronic acid has been touted as the “fountain of youth,” WebMD.comreports, “There is no evidence to support the claim that taking it by mouth or applying it to the skin can prevent changes associated with aging.” With Voluma we’ve seen that injecting hyaluronic acid into the cheeks can temporarily reverse signs of aging and restore a youthful appearance to the face because it does more than just fill wrinkles (unlike Restylane, Perlane, and Juvederm). Voluma actually restores volume to the cheeks, which flatten, wrinkle, and sink in over time. Your new “baby face” will run you an average of $1350.

This new three-dimensional approach to anti-aging might best summed up by NYTimes.com, “Round, plump cheeks look young. Saggy, sunken ones look old. Increasingly, dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons are turning their attention from smoothing out wrinkles to increasing volume.”

The FDA research study on Voluma noted temporary side effects of swelling, redness, discoloration, bruising, tenderness, lumps and bumps, itching, and pain.